


When I see you again

by chocobobutt



Series: When I see you again [1]
Category: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, Kingdom Hearts
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-26
Updated: 2015-11-26
Packaged: 2018-05-03 10:10:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5286728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chocobobutt/pseuds/chocobobutt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>KH Appreciation Week<br/>    Day 1: Favorite World<br/>    {Hollow Bastion}</p><p>{Strifehart Sunday/kh appreciation week drabble}</p><p>“When I see you again” Part 1/?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

He was _home._ If you could even call it home. The gates to walk in, the twisted columns and towers, none of this was anything he could recognize. This couldn’t be _Radiant garden._ He had never remembered the giant heartless symbol on the castle, or the way fumes of light came out of pipes here or there. It was crumbling, some places didn’t even look safe to walk on, let alone hold columns and walls up. Even if the world had returned, it seemed hopeless, totally lost. All the beauty was gone. There were no more gardens, no more anything. Was this really the place he had once called home? It couldn’t be. There was too much darkness here. Too much darkness even for him. Still there was a feeling, something was pulling him inside.

The inside was no different then the outside. Everything was distorted from what he remembered. It all seemed so foreign to him. Or had his memories always been a lie? Was the castle always as creepy and formidable as it seemed now? He walked down hallways, examining everything as he passed. Barriers of light were put up and floors were disconnected from each other. This layout was confusing, like a maze. Eventually he was let out into a hall. Descending stair cases planked either side of a fountain. This room looked familiar. If he remembered there was a room, a place he visited with them. Which way was it again? There were doors he could see all around and he took a chance and went to one on the right.

_“Cloud! Cloud is that you?!”_

He knew that voice. _Yuffie?_ Yuffie was alive? He turned around and there she was. Her face had grown up, she had grown up. No longer was she the little kid who liked to tag along with him and the others on adventures. “Cloud it is you! Oh man everyone is going to be so happy! We haven’t seen you since…since the world was lost!” Her happy demeanor had been something that hadn’t changed. Cloud could see she was still the happy little girl he once knew. At least something was constant here.

“…Yuffie…who else survived?” He wasn’t ready to see anyone else but he was curious. Cloud had changed and he thought not for the better. Those ten years away had changed him. He wasn’t the happy teenager anymore.

 _“A few of us so far! We haven’t seen everyone yet. We just got here ourselves. Oh Cloud they are going to be so happy to see you! We thought you were…were…”_ The overly happy ninja lost her smile for a moment as she ran into him and held him tight. She didn’t care that Cloud didn’t return the hug, she was just happy he was back. Everyone would be so happy to see him again. “We met in Traverse Town. Cid, Aerith, Squ-..eh..Leon”

 _’Leon?’_ Who was Leon? It had sounded like Yuffie meant to say Squall but changed it. Did Squall change his name? Why? None of that made sense to him but that was the least of his worries. There were too many names that weren’t counted for in that list. Where was everyone else? If they hadn’t met in Traverse Town, where ever that was, did that mean they were gone. He didn’t want the survivors to only be the five of them. That would be too sad, he wouldn’t stay if that were the case.

“We haven’t found everyone else yet..but..we know they’ll come back! We just have to fix this place up first. That’s what Leon said. Cid already has plans in the making.” Yuffie continued to talk, breaking Cloud out of his own deep thoughts. He finally broke the embrace and took a step back from her.

“You mean…they are all here?” His voice held a tone of worry in it. He hadn’t prepared for this. Yuffie was one thing but Aerith, Squall, he wasn’t ready for them to see him yet. He was a denizen of darkness and they were all full of light. If Yuffie looked like she didn’t, then they had a better life away from the garden then he had. “Yuffie I can’t see them…not like this”

“Oh hush you. No one if going to care about what you look like now. I think it’s kind cool…even if that hip armor looks uncomfortable.” A chuckle. He hadn’t heard her laugh in so long.It was refreshing, even if the reason was his outfit. “It’s helped more times then you would think” He replied. Cloud walked past her to check out more of the castle but he didn’t get far before she grabbed his arm and pulled him towards a door. “Hey! You aren’t getting away so easily again, Cloud! Aerith has been worried sick about you. Leon too! You have to see them. Even Cid is here!” Yuffie wasn’t going to give up without a fight.

“Well, if you ain’t a sight for sore eyes. Yuffie go back inside, Aerith is asking for ya.”

_Cid._

_Shit._

Cloud turned around and saw the same gruff man he once knew. He hardly looked any different.Still that same pissed off look on his face, arms crossed and everything. It was almost a joke that he looked so normal here.

“Awwww you guys are no fun. Fine I’ll go back in but I’m telling Aerith and Leon!” Yuffie declared as she ran into the door that she had previously been trying to drag Cloud to.

Cloud and Cid stayed silent for a bit as they looked over each other. Neither wanted to speak first, but Cid eventually did. “Ya know, I always thought you were a strange dude. Just when I thought you were smart, You show up and show how stupid you are. Not seeing your friends? You’re a damn fool Cloud Strife. It’s been ten years for everyone. They’ve waited ten years to see you again and you’re just going to walk away? Not even going to give it a chance?” There was no way Cid was going to let him leave like he wanted. He had heard what Cloud had said to Yuffie and it bothered him. Cloud was their friend, part of their group. He had to start acting like it again. “Now you better turn around and get your ass inside before I make you” There was silence and then Cloud nodded and did as he was told, Cid walked ahead and entered before him.

Everyone was waiting for him in the library. His nerves were getting bad. His vision was becoming blurry. He didn’t want to be here. He wanted to leave. Cloud kept his eyes on the ground.

Light footsteps came towards him. He saw the brown shoes before him and looked up. Emerald green eyes, brown hair pulled into a long braid into the back. Aerith. She was beautiful. She had grown into her once lanky features and he couldn’t take her eyes off her. She leaned forward a bit and looked at him up closer, a smile on her pink lips. Cloud had to look away. He pulled up the scarf that was around his neck, hiding more of his face. He couldn’t let her see his blush. “Still as shy as ever. It’s good to have you home Cloud.” Her voice was soft, dainty. Aerith pulled back and looked behind her at Yuffie and Leon. Yuffie was all smiles and Leon didn’t seem to care about any of this. Aerith had to hold back from rolling her eyes at him before looking back at Cloud. “We all missed you”

It didn’t look like they all missed him. At least not the man in the back. He hardly recognized who it was. Long brown hair, tall, unamused. He didn’t get a good look at his face from the way he was standing but it had to be Squall. Yuffie said he was here, didn’t she? He looked so different though. Not at all how she remembered him but then again that was ten years. Squall had grown up handsome and he hadn’t even seen him fully.

“I….missed you all too…” Cloud wasn’t confident in his answer but he said it anyway. He pulled the cloak down a bit and walked over to everyone, ignoring Squall for the most part. If Squall was going to ignore him, he would do the same back. “Do you really think everyone will come back? Zack, Tifa…Rinoa?” That name got a bit of movement out of Squall. He completely turned his back on Cloud. Last Cloud had remembered, Squall and Rinoa were sort of together. Had she gone missing too? Did he say something he shouldn’t have?

Aerith and Yuffie looked at each other, to Squall and then at Cloud before Aerith spoke. “Maybe….we should talk about something else. Hey Cloud, why don’t you and Leon catch up? You can go downstairs.” She pointed behind her where a stairway was, it led down to the first floor of the library. “Ugh…sure…” He replied and looked from Aerith to see Squall already walking down the stairs. He didn’t walk any faster to catch up to him.

The descent down the stairs was a long one even if the stairs themselves were few. Squall was already waiting at the base and Cloud watched him as he walked down. Squall’s eyes never left the blonde’s blue ones as he came down. Cloud could finally see Squall’s face now. He still had that scar from years ago though it had healed a little bit. His once feminine baby face had chiseled out a bit. He looked more masculine now, though he wasn’t sure if the hairstyle was helping that along. Cloud couldn’t look away and almost tripped down the last stair, having not been paying attention. The two men stared at each other, neither speaking.

Cloud eventually took the step forward and walked over to him, stopping a good distance away. He had to break eye contact. He couldn’t stare at those steel eyes anymore in fear of being lost to them forever. “So….you changed your name” His voice came out staggered, weak sounding. Why was he so intimidated? This was Squall, the same Squall he had grown up, who he had been rivals with. He shouldn’t be this nervous but he was.

“Yeah…I did…” Squall hardly spoke. He didn’t take his eyes off him even when Cloud looked away. “…You didn’t want to see us. You wanted to hide away from us….I thought you were our friend but I guess time has changed that.” He wasn’t happy. Squall was upset at what Yuffie had told him. The moment she had said Cloud was back he was happy, happier then he had been in years. His friend, one of his best friends was alive. That blonde boy he loved to tease and fight with was okay. Then she had mentioned how he didn’t want to see them but Cid would fix it. It had hurt to hear that.

“Squall that’s not true I just-”  
“Leon. Don’t call me that. I’m Leon now” Squall had interrupted him. He froze and looked at how he seemed to change. Squall was expressionless besides the scowl on his face. What had happened to him in those ten years? Everyone seemed fine but Squall.“Look, I don’t know what’s up your ass but I came didn’t I? I’m not expecting a hug or even a handshake. Just…don’t ignore me, if not for me then for them” Cloud knew that they weren’t far from the others hearing them so even if he was annoyed he wasn’t raising his voice. Squall just crossed his arms and purposely walked past him, their shoulders hitting each other. “Whatever…”

Cloud might have thought Squall was handsome, gorgeous even, but there was no way that beauty went down past his looks. He felt like he had lost a good friend. This wasn’t the Squall he knew.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> {STRIFEHART SUNDAY}  
> “When I see you Again” Part 2/?

The walk back up was an awkward one. Even though the two men had tried to be quiet, the girls and Cid had heard. They were disappointed but didn’t say anything. Cloud could see it on everyone’s faces. He didn’t like this. He was uncomfortable and had to get out. “I’m…going to go see if I can find any heartless” He blurted out before practically running out of the room. The girls and Cid all turned their attentions from cloud to Squall, giving him dirty looks.

Cloud hated himself. He had run away. He ran away from friends. What was wrong with him? That wasn’t like him. He couldn’t go back there now though. He stood in the great hall again and looked around before walking off down a hallway in the middle. It lead out to another great room. A control room of sorts. In the middle was a huge heart that was glowing with darkness. He could sense it. The darkness in the area made him almost sick. _‘I have to warn them…’_

There was no way the others knew of the darkness away from their safe haven in the Library. He couldn’t just leave them thinking all was safe. He turned to return where he came but a claw stopped him.

_Shit._

There wasn’t just one claw, there were many, tens, hundreds of tiny black claws pulling at his clothing, trying to keep him in place. It was an ambush. There was too many heartless here. He could take them, most of them at least. He could give them time to escape or form an attack. First he had to get out of this hold.

Firaga was cast on his pants legs but not by him. The heat from the flames helped free him momentarily but the heat burned at him. He looked up at his savior and saw the one person he didn’t want to see.

**Squall.**

He had that dumb gunblade with him too. He had always thought it was a weird weapon. How could a blade be a practical gun and not shatter when set off? He’d never understand it but right now he was just thankful he was free. He moved away from the pools of darkness scattered all over the floor. “There’s so many” He said aloud, Squall running over to him, a little out of breath. “I can take them on my own Squall”  
“Leon, and no you can’t. I just saved your ass” The brunette glared at him before slashing his gun across a heartless that jumped at him. “And again. Now help or leave. We don’t need dead weight here.” With that Squall ran ahead and into the pools, ignoring Cloud to fight the heartless.

It was like a wake up call for Cloud. Squall was right. Now wasn’t the time for that. It was kill first, talk later and Cloud did just that. In fact he got a bit carried away. His black wing came out, summoned without him even realizing it. He was faster, killing off many heartless at once. Squall pulled back and watch, both amazed and very confused. He didn’t know Cloud had such darkness in him. It was concerning to say the least. Despite how rude he had been previously, he had to tell his friends this. They just couldn’t pretend to ignore it.

The heartless were gone in no time. Of course they would be back eventually, they hadn’t been killed with the keyblade but this was enough time to think of a plan.

Once the wing disappeared, Squall grabbed Cloud’s collar and pulled him close and off the ground. In that moment, Cloud really saw the difference between them. He felt so very small. “What are you? What happened to you? Why do you have that…that thing on your back? Are you one of them? Are you a heartless to?” Squall was asking to many questions and Cloud couldn’t answer them.

“S-squall..I…put me down” When had Squall become so strong? Why had everything changed? He didn’t like this present. He should have never returned home and kept them all in his memories. He hated this, he hated this place and he hated this Squall.

Despite what he said he wanted to know, Squall put him down and gave him a minute to breathe before commanding him again. “Tell me. Answer my questions!”

Being so close to him Cloud had to look up at the brunette and he hated that. “I…when the world was destroyed I almost died too. Somehow I made it…but not untouched by the darkness. I’m not going to hurt you or any of them. I promise”

Squall didn’t buy that for a moment. He grabbed Cloud’s arm roughly and dragged him back to the library with him while Cloud shouted curses at him. He was hurting him but Cloud didn’t want to hurt Squall and dig a deeper hole for himself. “Let go! Squall stop it! That hurts!”

Squall shoved the door to the library open and practically threw Cloud in. “He is full of darkness” He declared as the others turned to see the commotion. Cloud had went to the floor, holding his arm. It was already bruising up from the rough treatment he had been given. He looked back at Squall and glared at him. “Cloud…is that true?” Aerith asked, she had a look of disbelief and fear on her face.

“Aerith…I…yes but I didn’t come to hurt any of you. I’m fighting to get my light back.” Cloud responded as he looked up at her. He saw the look in her emerald green eyes and paled. She looked terrified of him. _Aerith_ , the little girl who used to play house with him, was terrified of him. “Aerith…Aerith don’t look at me like that…”

Yuffie and Cid stayed quiet, not sure who to believe. Yuffie was sure Cloud was okay, he could have hurt her before if he was really bad but he hadn’t. However Leon wouldn’t lie about something like that and it worried her. Cid on the other hand didn’t like that Leon had been so rough with the blonde. He could see the mark he had left and put two and two together. He knew Leon was trying to protect him but he had taken it too far, even if Cloud was dangerous he was still their friend.

Cid stepped forward and bent down to look at Cloud’s arm, making sure nothing was really wrong with it. “Well, ya happy Leon? Ya get your friend back and you hurt him.” He wasn’t happy. Cloud on the other hand was shocked that Cid of all was the one to come to his side, to believe him even a little bit. “Cid….” He started to say but the older blonde just put a hand to his face. “Shush. I don’t know what’s going on and I expect an answer later, but until then you are going to be under my care. Ya hear that Leon? Leave him alone.”

Squall was flabbergasted at this. “Cid I saw it with my own two eyes! He can’t be trusted!” Sure, Squall was regretting how much force he had put on Cloud a little. He would agree he over reacted a bit but he still didn’t like this. He still thought Cloud was dangerous.

“If he is so bad then once he’s fixed up, he can stay with you. You seemed to be able to take care of it once. You get to babysit him then.”

“Wait! Don’t I get a say in this? I’m not a kid anymore. I don’t need to to be watched like a kid!” Cloud argued back. He didn’t like that Cid and Leon were arguing over him without him even having a chance to say something for himself. The two older men stopped talking before Cid spoke again. “Well spikes, ya can prove that by being a good kid and not causing Leon any trouble. As oldest I make the rules, and my rules are listen to Leon. You two are going to become great friends.”

**Great Friends?** _Like that would ever happen…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it’s kinda super slow paced but will get better I promise! I hope you like this second part to a very long Strifehart story.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “When I See You Again”  
> Part 3/?

_Friends?_

Cloud was really starting to think that was never going to happen. Already two weeks had passed since that day in the castle. Not long after, there were other blueprints found. Cid started to drop in his equipment to build. Aerith and Yuffie were at Traverse Town, trying to see if anyone wanted to come to Hollow Bastion instead. Everyone was busy. Even he was busy. Keeping busy was good. It meant very little time talking to Squall, looking at Squall, having to deal with Squall. Sure they had to communicate to do some menial tasks, but besides that they were both too occupied. They got a lot done by purposely ignoring each other. The other day, Cid had found an aqueduct system that had clogged and with Squall and Cloud’s help, had removed the blockage. When the water started to drain it was like Hollow Bastion was changing before their eyes. The outer ring of homes, shops, and centers started to return. There was no longer just a castle that seemed to float in the middle of ocean. The basic structure of Hollow Bastion was returning.

 

Cloud had noticed a change in Squall when houses came into view. Those steel grey eyes seemed to have a little more life in them, almost a sparkle of hope. Had that really all it been to make Squall seem more normal? The blonde figured it had something to do with the fall of the Garden. He hadn’t seen what Squall had saw. Cloud had vanished along with many others before the world was completely taken. He had heard from Yuffie that it wasn’t the case with Squall. Apparently he had been one of the last around. Cloud didn’t want to imagine what that must have felt like, but he’d figure it must have left a nasty scar on Squall’s heart.

Today was no different when it came to work. The two had been tasked to start clearing out the areas that had already been drained. After some crafty mathematician nonsense that Cloud had no idea how to follow, Cid had figured out that it would take about a year with help from his machines and others to at least get a portion of the area habitable and with clean, running water. It was going to be years before Radiant garden would look remotely close to what it had once been. Maybe then, Cloud would finally feel like he had a home again.

There were still heartless around. Many weird heartless actually. While Squall would be working on cleaning and getting rid of debris, Cloud was on guard. Of course the brunette still kept a watchful eye on him. Trust had not been forged between them yet, Squall didn’t give him much of a chance to. There had been a few instances where Cloud had to get rid of some heartless with Squall’s help, but for the most part they seemed to be left alone which didn’t give Cloud much time to redeem himself in the brunette’s eyes. Squall didn’t even know if simply protecting him from heartless would warrant his trust again. At least Cloud was helping him clean without question.

Another few buildings were cleaned. Still nothing looked like home or was habitable in yet. The trio had been spending their nights in the library. It was Squall’s goal to at least get one building restored soon that would serve as a base outside of the castle. None of them had been getting restful sleep in there. They took turns sleeping in shifts. Cloud had offered to watch the whole night but Squall wouldn’t let him. As far as Squall knew, Cloud had only been getting at most 3 hours of sleep a night. He noticed how the blonde would always have nightmares. They’d seem to progressively get worse until he’d finally wake up and then walk off on his own, not to be seen until morning again. Nights confused Squall. He was very suspicious about where Cloud went during his walks. He couldn’t go after him or he’d leave Cid open to attacks in his sleep. At the same time, seeing Cloud’s face all shifted and changed in a fearful slumber was unsettling. No matter how hard he was trying to hate Cloud, it was moments like that when he remembered his friend, the little blonde boy who he had once played with as a child.

Tonight was just like one of those nights. Cloud was propped against a bookshelf and Cid was laying on the floor with a sleeping bag. It was Squall’s turn to keep watch and he did so by reading over maps, books, whatever he could find in the library usually. Tonight he had explored a bit of the area around where the other two were asleep and had found a blank book. He was going to use it as a journal to help organize his thoughts and plans. He preferred things in order after all. As he was writing out a letter, he heard shuffling beside him. As usual it was Cloud waking up. “Still can’t sleep?” He had asked.

“Why do you ask every night? I know you don’t care.” Cloud snapped back at him. Squall could see the glistening of sweat on the blonde’s face. _Had the nightmare been that bad? What was it Cloud was dreaming of?_ He didn’t want to admit it but the recurrence of these nightly terrors for Cloud was worrying him. 

“You’re right. I don’t care. I’m heartless. Aren’t you late for your midnight walk, Strife?” It was a half hearted truth. Though he knew that Cloud wouldn’t believe him anyway even if he did ask if he was okay.

A huff and then Cloud was up and leaving, weapon with him. The room went quiet after the opening and closing of the door, leaving Squall with nothing but his thoughts and the sound of Cid snoozing away.  
*********************************

“‘Qually! I found something! Come see it!” A voice called to him, a voice he hadn’t heard in over a decade. He saw a familiar face. Big blue eyes, a smile and messy blonde bedhead tied into the smallest of ponytails in the back. The boy was full of smiles, a tooth missing and his hands cupped around each other.

“Cloud, I told you it’s Squall. SQUALL. Not Quall or Qually.”

“Oh…I’m sorry S…ssssquall.” He was still too little. The attempts to say the name were cute at least.

Squall patted the younger boys head and gave him a smile. “It’s okay Cloud. What did you want to show me?” His head tilted a bit to the side as he looked at the cupped hands. What did Cloud have in there?

The little boy smiled up at him and parted his hands a little. A tiny chicks head popped up and the smallest little 'wark’ was cheeped. The noise made Cloud giggle. “I found it all alone. Do you think my momma will let me keep it?”

Squall looked thoughtful for a moment. It was a baby Chocobo. They were very rare in this world, almost extinct. Usually they were in the wilderness of Radiant Garden, not in town. Cloud’s mom was probably going to say no and he’d probably cry about it to him later. “Well….I mean it’s cute Cloud. You two look like you could be brothers you know.”

Cloud just pouted and held the baby bird closer to his chest. “But I don’t want to be his brother….I rather be yours”

“Cloud….”

**“….Cloud….”**

“Squall! Yo wake up sleepy head!”

 

Squall woke with a start and the dream ended, or _was it a memory? When had he even fallen asleep?_ Last he remembered was watching Cloud leave the library. He looked up at Cid, the old man towering over him while Squall was propped up in a chair. “I’m sorry Cid…I must have dozed off. Is everything okay? Are you hurt?”

“Stop worrying. That’s how you get premature wrinkles ya know. You were only out about an hour. I thought I’d let you rest a bit. It’s morning. Cloud ain’t back yet.” Cid sighed and stretched. He was a bit sore from all these nights sleeping on the floor. It was torture on his already bad back.

“He isn’t back yet? Should we go get him?” He tried not to sound a bit worried but it didn’t do to well Cid picked up on it of course and chuckled.“Let me get some food going and I bet he’ll come running for it” He patted Squall’s shoulder before going to the hot plate to make some breakfast. It was strange having to do everything out of the library.

Squall wasn’t so content with just waiting. Even though Cloud’s behavior was strange to begin with, the fact that he wasn’t back yet was even stranger. _Was he hurt? Did he finally leave? Was he ever going to come back again?_ The brunette grabbed his gunblade and went to the door. Cid was mumbling to himself about something and he left to try and find Cloud.

He was in none of the usual areas. Not any of the safe rooms or areas. He wasn’t inside at all. Squall eventually gave up and went outside. He was hoping to spot him somewhere outside the castle. He came to a balcony, one of the ones that somehow was stable even if it looked like a feather would make it crumble. Steel grey eyes looked around and tried to find the red of his scarf, or the blonde spikes that reminded him so much of a bird.

“Hey”

Squall heard him. His head snapped up and looked at the giant heartless symbol on the outside of the castle. It was beginning to fall with time but still recognizable. On the top was the very man he had been looking for. How he even got over there was a mystery. The giant sword was with him up there so he couldn’t have climbed. He’d have to climb with one hand and while Cloud was much stronger then he remembered, maybe even stronger then him, climbing while carrying that sword with one hand would be nearly impossible. At least he was found. He wasn’t gone.

Despite the little ounce of happiness he felt knowing that Cloud hadn’t left, Squall didn’t smile, he just kept that cold mask he put on for Cloud. “What are you doing up there? You were supposed to come back. Cid is making breakfast.” He wasn’t very sure how Cloud was going to get down. He could probably get Cid to take one of his ships to- _Oh Hyne..wait…why was Cloud standing up now?_

“Cloud what are you doing!?”

The blonde didn’t answer but simply stood and jumped off the heart, falling fast.

“Cloud!”

The wing. Squall had forgotten Cloud had that. He had seen it but didn’t think that he could actually fly with just one wing. _How did that even work?_ Either way the man was falling towards him, or rather floating down to him. It was really amazing actually. Though Squall was too busy having a bunch of different emotions pass by him.

He was happy Cloud was here, scared that he had just jumped without warning, angry that the man made him scared and now just utterly amazed. He was still mad and angry at Cloud but he had to admit that the blonde looked ethereal right now. As he floated down on that dark wing, blonde hair fluttering around his face. It got Squall to momentarily drop his guard a bit. He took a step back when Cloud landed on the balcony with him.

There was the silence again.

Just the two of them, watching each other.

“You could have told me what you are doing. I thought you were going to jump and…well..” Squall trailed off, the first to avert his eyes of the pair.

Cloud just fiddled with his scarf a bit. “Sorry…I didn’t think I’d scare you…you said Cid made breakfast before, right?” Cloud was trying hard to suppress the surprise in his voice. For the first time since he came back, Squall had sounded actually concerned about him. It felt a little nice, even if he didn’t understand what had changed.

“Oh..yeah…let’s go eat.”

The rest of the day went by as usual. Little was said between the two warriors. They were working on a house. Cloud had found a chimney and was clearing it when one of the things he threw, exploded in a puff of dust. He coughed as he was covered completely from head to toe in soot.

“Cloud are you okay?” Squall walked into the room, swatting at smoke. It was hard to see anything in the room and he walked right into something, or rather someone very skinny.

“Well hello there to you too Leon!”

That old voice…He knew that voice.

“…Merlin?”

“Of course. Oh…I seemed to have made a mess of things” The old wizards chuckled a bit and in a poof of light everything in the room was clean, including Cloud. Actually the room was perfect. There was furniture, rugs, lights, everything that hadn’t previously been in the house.

“Merlin you..you fixed up this room? What are you even doing here? I thought you were staying at Traverse town” Squall was amazed. If he could do that to this little house, maybe they could fix up Hollow Bastion a lot sooner then he thought.

“Oh well, the lovely Miss Aerith came and told me about what you’re all doing. Her and Yuffie are doing a swell job at recruiting others to come back and help. I believe you will have many visitors soon. I thought I’d come by and help spruce up some things.” The old wizards smiled, turning to see Cloud and focusing his glasses a bit as he looked at the blonde. “Well, yours is a face I haven’t met yet. Who might you be?”

“Cloud…I’m helping Squall.” He was quick to answer. The old wizard didn’t seem like a bad guy at all, actually sort of quirky. Cloud swore he had thrown a bag out of the chimney. _What would a wizard be doing in a bag anyway?_ Weird was better then nothing though. If he was going to help them clean he’d be all for that.

“Merlin you just saved us so much work. Come with us, we can get Cid and work out a plan. If what you said is true, we need to get some places ready for everyone to stay. We can’t all fit in the library of the castle.” The brunette smiled.

That was the first time since he had come back, that Cloud saw Squall really **smile.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Strifehart Sunday! So I’ll only be posting one chapter this week but I think that’s okay seeing as how there was finally a little bit of strifehart in it. I wanna say thanks to @xthelionsdenx for helping me as I wrote this chapter and for all the encouragement and praise from everyone. I still can’t believe people like this story. I hope I keep you all intrigued! More next sunday! <3 <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “When I See You Again”  
> Part 4/?

_A warm embrace._ Strong arms wrapped around him, a warm exhale of breath tickling his neck. Company. For once he wasn’t alone. When was the last time he had ever let someone hold him like this? So close, dare he say it even intimate. Intimate wasn’t a word he wanted to use for the brunette though, even if it felt good. The embrace was helping though. His panic was subsiding in the hold. That had been why it started in the first place. At least he was sure he had been held to calm down.

“Squall…I’m okay now…” Cloud’s voice came out softer then before. He wasn’t as scared anymore, his nightmare gone.

Squall’s rough voice broke through the peaceful calm and made him realize just how close they were right now.“I’ll let go in a second, I’m not sure you’re okay yet”

A nod was the only response Squall received in return. Eyes the color of gun metal looked down at the mess of blonde hair against him. Cloud was in his arms, his head rested against his own chest. His arms were around Cloud so very protectively, like at any minute he could be lost and he did feel that might be true. Of all the time they had spent together, Squall had never seen Cloud act this way. He had been so terrified, those eyes had seemed dead to the world. When he first heard the crash and scream he thought a heartless had attacked him in his sleep but finding Cloud like he had…he never wanted to see anyone look like that again. Cloud had been so broken, so unresponsive. He didn’t know what to do but hold him like he was. Somehow it had worked. The breathing had regulated and that smaller body had relaxed. It had terrified Squall and even if he said he would let go, he didn’t want to. He feared as soon as he did, cloud would go back to the way he was only a few minutes ago. Was this why Cloud had never slept too long in the library?

 _‘What had set him off?’_ squall wondered as he ran a hand through that mess. It was surprisingly soft and the act of playing with Cloud’s hair rewarded him with a very relaxed sigh. A eyebrow raised at that and he did it again. Cloud reacted the same and relaxed more so Squall kept doing it. The more he played with the blonde’s hair the more relaxed Cloud became until he could feel his breathing even out. Cloud had fallen asleep in his arms. _  
_'Shit…’__

Squall was glad the man was asleep, Hyne he needed that sleep. However their positions were not the most comfortable for Squall. One of his arms was under Cloud’s head and if left alone would fall asleep and feel very weird in the morning. Squall was faced with a dilemma. Did he let Cloud sleep or fix himself?

__'Looks like we’re even now, Cloud’_ _

A little shift and Squall pulled the sleeping man closer. His own eyes felt heavy for a bit before he too went to sleep, dreaming about the days events and how he had somehow happened to end up with Cloud in his bed.

The day had started the same as usual. Since Merlin had returned, a good dozen houses were cleaned and ready to be fixed. He remembered how happy he had been the other day when Merlin had cleared out those dozen homes. It would be enough for now. Unlike the first house which Merlin had declared his, the others weren’t furnished. There wasn’t much structural support in some either. While it had shortened his list a little, now he had to add in repairs and finding ways to make everything the homes would need. They needed the power grid turned on. At least with the cleared aqueduct there was running water, even if he wanted to keep running tests on the purity of the water for awhile.

“Where do we start?” Cloud’s voice had surprised Squall out of his thoughts to look back at him. They were at the first empty house, both men had a tool belt on them, of course given by Cid. Squall held a clipboard in one hand and a measuring tape int he other, a pencil neatly tucked some hair out of his face as it stayed behind his ear. Cloud had rolled his eyes at that of course.

“Well, I guess we should check off that everything is okay first. I’ve…never done this before.” It felt weird to admit it to Cloud that for once he wasn’t so knowledgeable in this. He tried to know a little bit of everything.

Cloud just nodded and headed on in, turning the doorknob as it came off it’s hinges. He paused for a moment before looking back at the brunette.

“Well….we know the door is broken”

A laugh. Had anyone else had said it, he probably wouldn’t have laughed like he did but Cloud said it. Cloud with his straight face, door raised about the ground in his hand, had said it. The image was just too funny.

Blonde eyebrows raised in question at the sudden laughter form his companion. Did Squall finally loose it…because of a door? He just shook his head and leaned the door against the exterior of the house before going in. Luckily there was no dust since Merlin had cleared it before hand. The dust had really been affecting allergies he didn’t know he even had.

The inside was pretty bare and he didn’t really know what he was looking for. Everything seemed okay to him. Luckily Squall walked in, wiping his eyes. It hadn’t been __that_ _ funny. “You ready to work or do you need another minute?”

“I’m fine. Sorry” Squall took out his clip board, there was already a checklist for each house. The man was a perfectionist a bit after all. Squall walked around the room checking walls, lights, water, cracks, and anything else he could find. Cloud on the other hand kind of just looked around for anything he could recognize. Of course there was nothing. The house just felt stale was all he happened to notice. He went to a few of the windows and opened them a bit to let fresh air in. He ended up on the second floor, looking out a window. A cool breeze entered and he closed his eyes as he looked out at the little mess of houses and debris scattered before him. There was still so much to do. Would he have to stay here till it ended? Could he stay that long? Honestly Cloud wasn’t so sure right now.

“Taking a break already? We just started.”

Those words brought Cloud of his little trance and he turned quickly, almost hurting his neck in the process. “You didn’t give me directions” He knew that was an excuse but he said it anyway. He couldn’t tell Squall he was thinking of leaving. As far as he knew, he was still being watched to make sure he wasn’t an enemy.

Squall caught the lie and just walked over to him, pushing him out of the way of the window and looking down. “Didn’t we use to people watch from my room a lot? I remember you were so short I had to pick you up sometimes.” He chuckled a little as he looked back at Cloud, a little grin on his face. “You’re still short, need me to pick you up still?”

Cloud just scoffed and walked off into the next room. Squall was going to leave him alone until he heard a horrible snapping noise and he ran to the other room. He almost tripped over Cloud’s head in the process. _Wait, head?_ He looked down and Cloud was in the floor, everything below his waist missing. _'Dammit…the floors must be rotten.’_

The blonde had a horrible look on his face as he tried to get himself out of the floor. There was wetness on his legs. Probably cut himself when he fell through. He’d have to fix that later if he could just figure out how to get out of this without sinking further into the floor and landing below.

A gloved hand came over to him and he looked up at Squall, grabbing it. It was good that Cloud had left most of his equipment at home or he might have been too heavy for Squall. Luckily Squall was able to lift him up and then proceeded to act like a worried parent.

“Hey are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? Let me chec-”

“Stop. I’m fine.” Cloud lied and pushed the worried brunette once he had his footing right again. He took the clip board from it’s spot on Squall’s belt and the pencil and wrote down 'Beware floors’ in big letters on the sheet before going back down the stairs and out of the house.

The next few houses were more of the same, except now they were careful where they walked. The first time Squall walked into another room, Cloud used the chance to caste cura on himself. That familiar warm feeling and the scent of flowers embraced him as the wound healed. He lifted his shirt and looked at the damage. It had been a nice little gash and tore at his shirt too. Luckily Squall didn’t pay much attention to him or he would have noticed it.

The rest of the day was spent writing and Cloud really didn’t end up doing much. It was boring for him but he supposed in some way they had made progress. At the end of the day they went to Merlin’s house. It seemed the odd house would become a base of sorts.

“How are you doing by the way? I know you’re strong but…that was still a nasty fall.” The words were softer now. They were out in the open, walking to Merlin’s. It was strange being in this part of town. They used to come here as kids.

“I’m okay Squall” His were held the same tone to them. He looked out in front of them at the setting sun. It was kind of nice in the silence.

For once, Squall didn’t correct him. It was starting to be a habit it seemed. Cloud was, after all a close friend from the past even if he didn’t know what they were right now. He knew they weren’t friends but they weren’t enemies either. It was strange but he didn’t put too much thought into now, instead he just kept walking until they were at Merlin’s.

“Welcome back boys, how did it go?” The magician asked from his seat, sipping some tea. Of course said seat and magician were floating around the room. Cloud was a bit stunned but Squall seemed to act like it was just commonplace.

“It was fine Merlin. We had a bit of an accident in the beginning but besides that everything was fine.” Squall answered for the both of them.

A sip of tea and the wizard spoke again. “Ah well I’m glad everything is okay. Did you boys see any houses you want to stay in yet?”

“No” was said in unison. Cloud and Squall looked at each other for a moment before Cloud rolled his eyes and looked away and Squall muffled his laughing. Merlin raised a bushy grey eyebrow as he watched them before smiling. “Then I suppose a bit of magic is in order.” He rubbed at his long grey beard before leaving his cup suspended in the air and hopping off his chair, gracefully floating to the stone floor. “Hm….yes…” He walked over to his bag, perched on a table and took out his wand, flicking it a few times before sliding it back into the bag.

“Ugh….What did you just do?” Cloud had to ask. He had been watching the old man the whole time. He didn’t like the grin on his face. He didn’t trust this old man even if Squall seemed to.

“I suggest you go back to that first house. Now out, the both of you. A wizard has important things to do you know!” Merlin hopped over to them and started to shoo them out. Cloud didn’t need to be told twice and Squall was just confused. The second they were out of the house, the door was slammed on them.

“Well, wasn’t that a little rude?” Cloud said as he rubbed his butt a bit and began walking off.

“Eccentric I think” Was Squall’s reply as he followed him. “So, think we should see what he did?”

Cloud shrugged and just kept walking. Squall took that as a silent yes and the two headed back to the cleared homes. It wasn’t long until they arrived. The outside looked exactly the same. Squall was skeptical to say the least. He reached for the know, a bit excited and turned it, pulling the door open. He had to step back at what he saw.

“What is it?” Cloud asked as he moved in closer and looked in. The house was furnished and decorated. Of course that was not what had stunned the two men. The inside was familiar. It was the inside of Squall’s old home. How Merlin knew, he didn’t know but this was a part of their childhood.

Squall was afraid to go in. This had to be an illusion. This wasn’t his home and he knew it. His house wouldn’t be among the ones still standing. He had lived on the other side of town, the part that didn’t exist anymore. Yet here was his house, the inside of his house. It was just as he remembered it, even the pictures on the wall were there. How had Merlin done this? A timid step forward and he held onto the door frame, looking like he might just faint.

Cloud looked at his companion and how scared he was. This wasn’t the time for him to be scared. They should be happy. Squall should be happy. Hesitantly he reached forward and took Squall’s hand in his tightly. He walked in first and for a moment felt like he was 12 again. _Was that really the last time he had been in this house?_ He really had been gone a long time. He pulled Squall into the home, actually having to use some force. The place looked just like it used to. The photos on the walls had pictures of Squall and his parents. There were a few baby photos. Vaguely Cloud could remember a very attentive father for Squall but that was about as far as he could remember about the others parents.

Squall on the other hand was remembering everything. He remembered when their house was destroyed. He remembered when his parents disappeared before his eyes. His mother vanished first. He remembered how he had screamed his fathers name as he vanished after. He had just turned 17. He was just a teenager when his world was torn apart. Now here he stood with all his things except the two people he wanted back the most. “Why….why did he do this?”

“Squall, this is a good thing. You got your house back. Come on, let’s explore…” Cloud could see the cold, disassociated look in Squall’s face. What had happened to Squall after he had left? Why was he so upset? Did his parents not make it? “…please…c'mon..” He had a feeling talking wasn’t going to get him anywhere. Squall hadn’t moved from when he had pulled him in. He sighed and let go of that hand and instead slapped him on the cheek.

“Cloud!”

So it wasn’t the nicest way to snap him out of it but it had at least worked. Once Squall was talking and that glazed look in his eyes was gone he moved closer so Squall would have to look at him. “Take a deep breath. We are going upstairs to look around more, alright? Keep your eyes on me” He then took both of his hands again and started to walk.

Surprisingly his plan worked. Squall followed without a problem, his eyes never leaving the back of Cloud’s odd hair. Really the man needed some kind of haircut or style, this was just ridiculous.

Luckily the upstairs looked nothing like the previous house. It had a much more cozy look that seemed to suit Squall. The color scheme was mellow and as they walked down the halls checking rooms, it seemed more like a place he would live in. There was two upstairs room. Squall’s room which was bigger and had clothes and his weapon in it already, somehow. Then there was a guest room which oddly had a change of clothes for Cloud and his sword. How it had appeared here without him noticing was a surprise and also a bit terrifying. The down stairs held the living room, study, kitchen, and bathroom.

“I…I think if I stay up here I’m okay…” Squall said, leaning against one of the walls in the hallway. This was too much for him to take in.

“You know…I could re-arrange the downstairs if it helps.” As soon as the words left his mouth, Cloud regretted them. He didn’t have to help Squall. There was no reason to help him honestly. Last he checked they still weren’t friends anymore. The thought must have surprised Squall too because he looked at him very confused. “I…it was just a suggestion” Suddenly he felt very self conscious under that gaze. He pulled his scarf closer around him.

“That’s…If you do I can make you something to eat. I’m sure Merlin wouldn’t do all of this without stocking the fridge too.” His voice came out uncertain. He didn’t want to make Cloud do something he didn’t want to do. The man was as stubborn as he was. Surprisingly Cloud did though. He went downstairs alone and moved furniture, grumbling a bit. The family photos on the walls were taken down and put in a cabinet. Everything was re arranged so it didn’t make sense. He went into the other rooms and took down any photos or anything that might bother Squall. It was about 3 hours of nonstop movement before he finally flopped down on the couch, closing his eyes. Squall took the silence as being done and walked down the stairs. what he saw looked like a tornado came through. Cloud had made a mess, not rearranged everything. “Cloud…” He was going to scold him but he saw just how tired the man looked on the couch and decided against it. Instead he walked over to the kitchen and as he thought, the fridge was full. He grabbed a few things and decided to make an easy soup for them.

Half way into cooking was when everything happened. He assumed Cloud had fallen asleep in the living room. That was until he heard a crash and a scream, it was a scream for help.

_Heartless._

He turned the stove top off and then ran into the living room. Cloud was on the floor holding himself. Upon inspection of the room, there was nothing there. If nothing had hurt him then what did this to the blonde? He carefully walked over to the blonde. The closer he got the more he saw Cloud shaking. The blonde was scratching at his clothes, crying. It broke squall’s heart. _What had caused this to happen?_ Cloud was broken. He was gone and he didn’t know what to do. Cloud had somehow managed to snap him out of his little episode earlier but this was different, much different. Every time he took a step forward, Cloud would move away. He could see the distant look in those eyes. It was horrible. “Cloud…it’s just me”

No response.

Squall sighed and looked around the mess of a room. He decided to go around the couch. When he spotted a chance, he dove down and grabbed the blonde in his arms. The body was lighter without the tools from before on it, almost too light. _‘Did Cloud even eat?’_ He thought as the once shaking form calmed a bit and leaned into his embrace. That was a good start at least. “It’s me….It’s Le-…Squall” The words didn’t stop all of the shaking but didn’t make it worse either, so that was something. Slowly Squall shifted him in his arms and carried him up the stairs. He made his way to his room as the bed was bigger and laid him down. Squall joined him and pulled him close into his arms.

__“Squall…I’m okay now…”_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I tried sooo hard to get this ready for sunday but alas I was late ;3; Anyway this is my LONGEST Chapter to date and tomorrow (later today) I will be writing the next chapter tomorrow. I did promise two chapters after all…at least I think I remember promising that XD

**Author's Note:**

> {I hope you all like this! I know there wasn’t much Strifehart in this but I want their relationship to grow, after all they hadn’t seen each other in years and last time they did they weren’t romantic at all anyway soo…yeah. Happy Strifehart Sunday Everyone!}


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